True to You

Every Whisper

1999

Elliot planted her hands on her hips and squinted at the tent in front of her. She had a suspicious feeling that at some time in the middle of the night she'd find herself being smothered by fabric when it collapsed.

"It looks a little...limp." Jimmy dropped an arm around her shoulders as he joined her in perusal of her sub-par tent pitching skills. Michelle's help had been less than useless; her best suggestion to get it pitched successfully had been the idea that they flutter their eyelashes at Brian and get him to pitch it. Elliot had rolled her eyes. She didn't think that Brian would be easily swayed by fluttering eyelashes, at least not from her or Michelle in any case.

"I've never erected a tent before. If you think you can do any better have at it." It was worth a shot, anything would be better than waking up in a shroud of waterproof fabric.

Jimmy gave her a knowing smirk making her wish she'd chosen her words more carefully. "I'm happy to help. My erections are always spectacular."

Elliot rolled her eyes and gave him a nudge with her elbow. She was immediately filled with remorse when Jimmy winced. She'd caught a spot that was still tender after his fight on the beach. She shot him a look of apology. He gave her a sunny smile waving away her implied apology. If anything looking at him made her feel even worse. One of his eye sockets was yellow with fading bruises.

He and Brian had been in so much trouble when their parents had seen their bruises. Only the fact that they were over eighteen saved them from the grounding and cancellation of the camping trip that they were threatened with. It wasn't that their parents didn't approve of them defending Elliot, they just hadn't approved of them using their fists to do so.

"Sorry James," Elliot murmured and slid one hand around his waist as she gave the injured spot on his side a gentle rub with the other.

Jimmy grinned down at her. "Nothing to apologise for Elli," he said then gave her tent a pointed look, "other than that pitiful excuse for a tent."

"Shaddup," she grumbled and raised an eyebrow at him. His attempts to mirror her expression had her laughing out loud. One of these days he was going to surprise them all by getting that eyebrow lift just right. As her laughter faded her expression grew serious and she said, "Thanks for sticking up for me James. But please don't get into any more fights. You could have been really hurt."

"Elli, I can't promise you that. When some asshole puts his hands on you without your permission I'm always going to come out swinging."

"Hell fucking yes we are," Brian said as he walked up to them. "Some asshole disrespects the women in my family I'm gonna lead with my fists. End. Of. Story."

Elliot restrained the impulse to roll her eyes. Brian could be such a jerk sometimes but deep down he was a good guy.

"Brian you can't go through life punching people," she protested weakly.

"Not planning to Elliot, I'm just saying that no matter how old I get there are some situations where the only appropriate response is an ass kicking." Brian smirked and such was his level of cocky confidence Elliot didn't even bother trying to argue.

"Well that looks like shit," Brian said with a nod in the direction of her tent which in truth did appear to be listing steadily sideways.

"Well fucking fix it then!" Elliot extricated herself from Jimmy's embrace and stomped off in the direction of Matt and Val who were surveying their perfectly pitched tent with satisfaction.

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Elliot glanced at Jimmy, his grin appeared particularly devilish in the firelight as he laughed at something that Zacky was saying. In the end it was Zacky who'd made sure that her shelter for the night was going to stand up to the elements.